Tuscaloosa Red Lobster Permanently Closed Amid Brand Bankruptcy

The shrimp has finally ended at Tuscaloosa's Red Lobster, where crews were cleaning out a closed restaurant Wednesday morning.

As the Thread reported in June, the Red Lobster in McFarland Plaza has been at risk since it survived the first wave of store closures that followed the company's filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in May.

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National outlets including USA Today and CNN reported then that Tuscaloosa was one of more than 225 Red Lobsters with rejected leases where the brand was losing money.

About 100 of those stores were closed in May, and the other 125 or so were considered at high risk of meeting the same fate.

It appears the clock ran out to renegotiate the leases here in Tuscaloosa, and the store was being emptied out Wednesday morning.

A sign posted on the door is identical to the one seen across the country in May when the first 100 stores were permanently closed.

The closure of the Tuscaloosa store comes as the struggling brand appears to have secured a new owner - Fortress Investment Group is Red Lobster's largest creditor and will take control of the company if approved in a hearing next week.

For more coverage of restaurant and retail news in Tuscaloosa as it develops, stay connected to the Tuscaloosa Thread.